Our client was driving through an intersection in Indian River County when another driver ran the light and T-boned her vehicle. The impact caused injuries to her cervical spine, lumbar spine, and knee. The knee required arthroscopic surgical repair.The knee injury was the primary surgical driver, though it carried a complicating factor: our client was an older patient with pre-existing degenerative changes in the knee. The defense used that history to challenge the causal relationship between the crash and the need for surgery. Despite those challenges, we recovered the full policy limits of $100,000 -- every dollar available under the at-fault driver's coverage.
We connected the surgery to the crash despite pre-existing degeneration. Pre-existing degenerative changes are common in older patients and do not disqualify a claim. Florida law allows recovery for the aggravation of a pre-existing condition.We identified and recovered the full available coverage. With a $100,000 policy, the goal was limits -- and we achieved it.We documented multilevel spinal injuries alongside the surgical claim. Cervical and lumbar injuries with injection treatment, combined with a surgical knee claim, produced a complete damages picture that supported a limits demand.
